The present invention relates to canoes and more particularly to an outrigger-type stabilizing device which is normally stored along the hull and deployed only when circumstances warrant.
Canoes have been in general use since before recorded history. Because of their speed, manoeuvrability and shallow draft, these craft continue to be in great demand by hunters, fisherman and boating enthusiasts. Canoes are, however, inherently unstable and are easily overturned even in calm water by inexperienced canoeists. Unfortunately, canoeing accidents account for the loss of many lives each year. Several attempts have been made to render canoes safer to use. For instance, canoes are now generally equipped with positive flotation to keep the craft afloat even after it has overturned and filled with water. Although this is effective in moderate weather and warm water conditions, it is practically impossible to re-enter the canoe, and in cold water a person can quickly suffer from hypothermia and lose his/her grip on the canoe.
One approach to providing stability is the use of an outrigger and, of course, outrigger canoes have also been known for centuries. However these craft are too unwieldy and difficult to transport to have gained popular acceptance by the general public and they are unsuited for navigating narrow creeks and brushy portages.
Extendible and retractable pontoons for stabilizing ships and aeroplanes forced to land on water have been described in U.S. Pat. No. 1,710,625 issued Apr. 23, 1929 to Haig Kapigian. In Kapigian's arrangement, gear driven telescoping tubes support pontoons which may be extended away from opposed sides of a ship, aeroplane or lifeboat in times of rough weather to reduce the rolling of the vessel and may be retracted to improve the speed of the vessel in moderate conditions. Although Kapigian's teachings are theoretically adaptable to canoes and other light craft, the mechanism required is expensive to construct, difficult to deploy and impractically complex for use with a canoe.
The present invention provides a retractable stabilizer of the outrigger type for small single-hulled craft, which is of simple and economical construction and easy to use, and in a preferred embodiment of the inventiion there is provided a combination stabilizer and step which may be deployed together to stabilize the craft and allow a person to embark or disembark from the water without assistance and without fear of the craft overturning.
It is an especial advantage of the invention that its simple and economical construction enables the stabilizer or combination of stabilizer and step to be sold as a kit for attachment to an existing canoe. Alternatively, a canoe may be fitted with same during its construction.